Infinite
by Loveandcoffeeandsimplicities
Summary: Bughead oneshot. I do not own the characters or comics. Enjoy.


Betty Cooper had never been one to stray from the beaten path. She had always done everything everyone had ever asked of her without complaint. Be the perfect daughter. Be the perfect friend. Be the perfect student. Perfection was something that seemed impossible to attain to some but to her, she had no other option. The only person who didn't seem to expect perfection from her was Veronica Lodge, her best friend. She seemed to understand the weight Betty had placed on her shoulders by everyone else.

Veronica and Betty's friendship started out interesting. When Betty had moved to the city, away from the quiet town of Riverdale, she never expected to become friends with an heiress. But here she was, sixth months later, sitting on the bed of the other woman's, watching as her best friend rifled through clothes in her closet.

"V, is there any point in telling you I'm not interested in going out tonight?" Betty asked dispiritedly, and Veronica shook her head.

"No, my darling Betty, there is not. Ever since you and Trev broke up, you've been in a rut and I will not watch you wallow in self pity anymore," she replied. Uhm, excuse you, but I haven't been _wallowing_, thank you very much.

"I haven't been wallowing," Betty muttered, and Veronica turned and looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. She sighed. "Fine, maybe I've been wallowing a bit."

Veronica snorted. "That's the understatement of the year."

Betty rolled her eyes but didn't deem that sentence worthy of a response so instead, just watched as her friend continued to shift through her clothes.

"Aha!" Veronica exclaimed a moment later, holding out a pair of artfully cut black jeans and grey t-shirt.

Betty looked at the items in her hands. "Since when do you own clothes other than dresses?"

"I bought these for you, actually," Veronica replied. "In case of an emergency."

Betty stood up from the bed and made her way to her best friend, accepting the clothes. "And, this is an emergency?"

"Betty, hon, you haven't been outside of this apartment in six weeks. _Six_. So, yes, I would say this is an emergency," she replied.

Rolling her eyes, Betty looked back at the clothes in her hand, before shifting her eyes back to Veronica. "Let's get this night over with."

"That's the spirit I'm looking for," Veronica enthused, and Betty wondered what the hell she was getting herself into.

XXX

The bar Veronica took them to wasn't at all like what Betty expected it to be. It had a rather chill atmosphere, with some redhead guy singing in the corner of it. His voice wasn't bad and he seemed to have collected a little fan club, if the girls surrounding him were anything to go by. She followed her dark-haired friend towards the bar, were a guy with raven tresses was tending to another customer. Betty and Veronica sat down, waiting patiently for him to be done. Eventually, he made his way towards them.

"Ladies, what's your poison?" He asked, then took another look at them. "Oh, hello, Veronica."

Betty looked at Veronica curiously, who shrugged.

"This may not be my first time here," she admitted, and the bartender snorted.

"You're here every night Archie performs, which is at least four times a month," he stated.

"Shut it, Jughead," Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Jughead?" Betty asked, looking at him.

Jughead grimaced. "The real thing is worse, trust me."

Betty decided to not per sue to the topic, not wishing to make him uncomfortable. She nodded, and looked around, before back at him.

"I'll have a gin and tonic, please," she said, and he nodded.

"I already know your order, Veronica," he said, and busied himself with making the drinks. When he came back, he placed her gin and tonic in front of her, then Veronica's whisky in front of her. It wasn't a drink she'd ever think the other woman would drink but her best friend had been surprising her over the years so nothing seemed unbelievable.

Betty took a sip of her drink, looking around at the bar. The redhead, Archie, she thought, was still strumming his guitar, singing softly into the microphone, and Ronnie was mesmerized. Now she understood why she brought her here.

"Go up there, V," Betty said, and Veronica looked at her hopefully.

"You're sure you'll be alright here?" Veronica asked, and Betty nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go," she emphasized, and Veronica grinned.

"You're the best, B," she said, before getting off the seat and making her way towards the front of the bar, to where the stage was. Betty turned back around in her seat and took another sip of her drink.

"So, Betty, correct?" Jughead asked, and she nodded.

"That's correct," she replied.

"How come you've never been here with Veronica before? I'm assuming you two are good friends," he said.

"Safe assumption to make," Betty mused. "And, I didn't even know this place existed."

Jughead stared at her. "Have you been living under a rock?"

"Worse. I've been holed up in our apartment for six weeks," she grimaced, and he laughed.

"The horror," he replied, and she felt her lips turn upwards in a smile.

"The horror," she returned, dipping her head at him. She watched as he looked at the other customers at the bar, satisfied with the way they seemed to be content, before turning his attention back on her.

"Bad breakup?" Jughead asked, and Betty didn't know why, but she had a suspicion it wouldn't be as hard talking about her breakup with a stranger as it was with Veronica. Sighing, she took another sip.

"The worst," she muttered, thinking of all the screaming she and Trev had done right before they went down on the sinking ship; all the insults hurtled at one another.

Jughead nodded.

"Happens to the best of us, Betty," he replied wisely. Betty didn't know why, but that one sentence caused some of the aching in her chest to lessen slightly and she was able to breathe a bit easier.

XXX

Veronica and Betty went back to the bar every night the next week. Even the nights when Jughead wasn't working and Archie wasn't performing; Veronica said it was high time for Betty to return to the land of the living.

And, despite however she may have been feeling about herself and the breakup, Betty knew the inevitable was coming; she was going to be happy again eventually.

One night, Betty found herself at the bar while Veronica and Archie had snuck off after his set. She had assured her best friend she'd be fine with calling an uber. She took a sip of her drink, watching the other patrons and imaging their lives and how they must be feeling in that moment of time.

Just then, the seat next to her was pulled back and she looked over in time to spot Jughead sitting down.

"I didn't know you came to the bar on your nights off," she mused, and he chuckled, waving two fingers to signal the bartender. He ordered his beer before looking back at her.

"I needed a break from being holed up in my apartment," he teased.

"That sounds like something I'd say," Betty laughed, and he bumped his shoulder with hers'.

"Funnily enough, you were the inspiration behind that sentence," he admitted.

Betty laughed, rolling her eyes a little. The two of them fell silent for a few moments and Betty found herself reveling in the fact that it wasn't an awkward or uncomfortable silence.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Jughead asked quietly a few moments later and she nodded without hesitation.

XXX

They walked the streets of the city that never sleeps, conversing with one another.

"Where'd you grow up, Betty?" Jughead asked.

"A little town called Riverdale," she replied. "I was born and raised there. Came to the city for college and never went back home. What about you?"

"I was born in the city, lived here all my life. Went to college at Columbia," he said, and she nodded.

"I was at NYU for journalism," she murmured.

"Was?" Jughead echoed, and she sighed.

"After my breakup, I kind of tail-spun and didn't know what to do with myself. I had a semester left before I withdrew. I plan on going back once I get my life back on track," she admitted honestly, and it was Jughead's turn to nod.

"Sometimes all we need in order to find ourselves is a push in the right direction," he replied.

XXX

After that, their friendship came easily. Jughead would meet her for coffee where they would talk about books and studies for endless hours. She enrolled back into college and he supported her throughout the final semester, being the loudest person cheering for her on graduation day.

Their kiss was something out of fairytales, something she had long since stopped believing in. She swore she saw Nirvana when his lips enclosed hers'.

When they moved in together, she thought to herself, "we were infinite."

Fin.

**Author's note: Just pure fluff after all the angst I write. Also, if anyone knows where the last line comes from, you're my hero. Enjoy and feedback lovely per usual. **


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